(New York, NY) -- New research on patients' utilization of tablets to provide important demographic and healthcare information confirms that mobile devices greatly improve patient data, which in turn results in improved screening and treatment for women. Using data collected from women obtaining breast health education and outreach services across 21 states, this research was presented last week at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, a conference that brings together the leading breast health physicians and researchers in the world.

The research, conducted by CAI of New York, NY on behalf of the Avon Foundation for Women Breast Health Outreach Program (Avon BHOP) found that transitioning away from paper-based surveys to tablet-based versions reduced the amount of missing information, increased patient response rates, and reduced survey completion time for the patient. The research has numerous benefits for healthcare providers as well, including reduction of data entry errors and cost associated with data entering.

"Collection of patient information through tablets could quickly become the standard in healthcare settings once providers realize the myriad of data quality and cost benefits" said Lindsay Senter, lead researcher and Director of Research and Evaluation at CAI. "Tablets are also well received among patients. Patients feel that entering personal information on tablets is more private and confidential than doing so on paper. This results in higher data quality and increased opportunities for better health outcomes."

The findings are based on a study of Avon BHOP clients who represent a low-income and highly diverse patient population in the U.S. More than 8,000 health intake forms were analyzed from March to December 2013, and 84 percent of the forms submitted on tablets had complete information compared to just 47 percent on paper.

According to the researchers, given the significantly lower rates of missing data when tablets are used, and the relatively low implementation cost, there are important implications for healthcare organizations to adopt and utilize electronic tablet-based collection of patient health data.

Additional information about the Avon Breast Health Outreach Program can be found at www.avonbhop.org.

About CAI: CAI is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of underserved populations worldwide. For 35 years CAI has provided customized capacity building services to health and human service organizations in over 27 countries and in all 50 states. Offering over 1,500 training programs annually, CAI's passionate staff works to fulfill its mission: to use the transformative power of education and research to foster a more aware, healthy, compassionate and equitable world. For more information about CAI, visit our website: www.caiglobal.org.

About Avon BHOP: The Avon Breast Health Outreach Program (BHOP) supports community-based organizations nationwide to provide education, outreach and navigation services for breast cancer screening and treatment to underserved women. Since 2000, CAI has provided capacity building services to these organizations, awarding over $74 million through more than 1700 grants to community-based agencies nationwide. Through 2013, Avon BHOP grantees facilitated more than 1.3 million mammograms and breast examinations nationwide and educated over 12 million people on breast cancer awareness. Avon BHOP is funded by the Avon Foundation for Women. For more information, visit www.avonbhop.org.